by Sir Alfred Comyn Lyall
Sir Alfred Comyn Lyall (1835-1911) was a British civil servant and writer. He attended Eton College and later Haileybury College. Inspired by his brother, he too wanted to work in India. He joined the Indian Civil Service in 1856. He began in Calcutta with training, and then from there moved around the country working to uphold British rule. He held numerous higher ranking roles such as the Commissioner of Nagpur, Commissioner of West Berar, and Foreign Secretary to the Government of India. He retired from service in 1887.
In addition to his work as a civil servant, Lyall wrote a great deal of poetry, including the published Verses Written in India (1889), and biographies, such as Warren Hastings (1889). Although heralded at the time, his works on Indian history are considered “somewhat dubious” by historians today.
Westphalia Press 